We are creative while also being pragmatic & strategic.
Founded in 2012, Hello City is an agency that specialises in urban revitalisation & developing innovative & workable strategies for cities, organisations & communities.
Hello City is a collective of urban strategists led by Kate McMahon. Our core team expands and partners with other organisations when needed to address specific challenges and project needs.
Project Re-Store is an offshoot of Hello City founded in 2019 and is focused on delivering recovery projects on the ground to help communities revive and rebuild after disaster.
We are in an excellent position to understand and navigate the complex, multi-stakeholder environments involved in big picture planning because of our varied backgrounds in urban design, creative process, user experiences design, recovery, education, governance, branding and marketing, communications, anthropology, art, activation, community and economic development, engagement and communications.
Kate McMahon
Kate is an urban strategist, artist, urban designer and expert in creative process and community development. She has significant experience in both the consulting and academic worlds.
A whirlwind of creative energy, Kate is an inspired public speaker and facilitator who is great at diagnosing complex problems and developing solutions that really work.
As co-founder of Hello City, Kate develops new ways of thinking about and tackling problems and opportunities.
She is an expert in city-wide strategic thinking, in finding imaginative solutions, sparking interesting conversations and getting down to the brass tacks of making it all work and the real world.
+61 425 712082
Jane York
Jane is expert at working with groups from the point of creating an audacious vision all the way through to the pointy end of delivery.
She knows how to find the sweet spot between inspiration, strategy and practical support. She is a logistics wiz who can make things happen on the ground.
Her approach to activation is grounded in the deep understanding of, and experience with, community development. She is able to uncover the values and beliefs that knit a community together and work with them on creative projects to allow these to shine.
Jane’s projects at Hello City have included leading the development of strategies around urban growth, place branding, programming and economic development Retail Activation Strategy for Knox which included developing an action research methodology to deliver a program of parklets, outdoor dining and retail spaces as part of COVIDsafe activation funding.
Over the last 2 years Jane has delivered a broad range of retail recovery projects with and for local traders in Maryborough, Northcote, Nicholson Village, Carlton, Wantirna and Bayswater.
If what we do excites you, why not give us a call and let us know what urban challenges get you out of bed?
MEET SOME OF HELLO CITY’S COLLABORATORS:
Adrian Stewart
Adrian is our favourite partner when it’s time to roll up our sleeves and make things. Adrian is a registered builder and carpenter who is passionate about working with communities, sharing his skills and finding imaginative solutions to practical challenges.
Over the last 10 years Adrian has delivered large-scale activation, strategic/tactical urbanism, recovery and city repair programs which include a creative array of parklets, caravans, carts, decks, shade structures, stages, raised veggie patches, signs and outdoor dining settings. He prides himself on being a safe pair of hands and taking an flexible & practical approach to collaboration.
Chris Hayward
Chris is our go to person for challenges that need a design anthropology approach. He is a designer and researcher who generates strategic and creative solutions built on rich research and insights. Chris’ unique approach to strategy development is cross-disciplinary, creative and rigorous and builds on various perspectives including design anthropology, technology research, human-centered design, design thinking methodologies and digital ethnography.
Using these frameworks, Chris is able to develop original and robust research methodologies and then apply laser-sharp analysis to uncover genuinely useful and transformative insights - getting to the heart of seemingly impenetrable problems.
His extensive experience in large and complex projects in Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Europe allows Chris to take a broad view of each project. He starts by understanding the moving parts of the project and is then able to take on the role in the team that is most useful.
He is quickly able to establish trust with key stakeholders and partners and build effective collaborations to deliver best value to the work at hand.
Chris bought key insights to the methodology for Hello City's award-winning Preston Market Identity Study which captures the tangible and intangible elements of place.